Odisha chit fund scam: Process begins to identify large depositors

Cuttack: Good news for large depositors duped by several ponzi firms in Odisha, as Justice MM Das Commission probing the chit fund scam has begun the process to identify the victims in Odisha.

The identification process will be carried out on basis of the affidavits filed by the chit fund victims in 2013 in the first phase. The notice will be served to the chit fund firms very soon, sources said.

While small depositors are getting their refund following verification by the panel, the clouds of uncertainty were hovering over receiving deposits in case of large depositors, who had invested at various chit fund firms to get high return.

The chit fund commission has submitted seven interim reports to the state government after identifying total 4,97,844 small depositors during the probe. While the identification process to refund deposits to small investors is still underway, the initiative by the panel to identify the large depositors has created hope among the victims.

According to reports, around 8,17,253 affidavits had been submitted by the small depositors before the commission between August 5, 2013 and October 31, 2013. The last interim report was presented to the government on July 12 this year.

Sources said that around 2,000 small depositors have received refund so far. The large depositors will be identified after verifying around 3.75 lakh affidavits filed by the small investors.

Meanwhile, the commission has written to the government proposing for digitisation of affidavits, which are still pending for verification. After getting a nod from the government, the affidavits will be digitised for smooth and error-free verification.